Roger Simon of U.S. News: "Nobody Died When Bill Clinton Lied"

MRC ^ | 11:20am EST, Monday February 16, 2004 | BrentBaker

[fight_truth_decay]

On Sunday's Face the Nation, at the start of a segment on President Bush's National Guard duty, CBS's Bob Schieffer said he was "surprised, frankly," that the Guard story "has gone on as long as it has." As if he had no control over the subject matters addressed on his own show.

But neither Schieffer, nor his guests on the topic, Time's Karen Tumulty and Boston Globe reporter Walter Robinson, went so far as Meet the Press panelist Roger Simon of U.S. News who remarked that, as opposed to Bush taking the nation to war, "nobody died when Bill Clinton lied."

Simon was responding to host Tim Russert who had pointed out how the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll found Bush is seen as "honest and trustworthy" by just 52 percent and on weapons of mass destruction, asked "Did the President exaggerate the evidence?", 54 percent responded yes, 42 percent no. Russert asked: "How much of an issue is this credibility, as Time magazine called 'a potential gap,' going to play in the 2004 race?"

Simon replied: "I think it's going to be huge. We've had Presidents who have lied to the American people. Our last President lied on a number of occasions to the American people, but nobody died when Bill Clinton lied. If, as these polls reflect, a majority of the American people think the President either lied or exaggerated about the weapons of mass destruction and sent young men and women off to war to fight and to die based on those lies and exaggerations, they're likely to be a little unforgiving, I think, in November."

Maybe, but the Washington Post/ABC News poll didn't show that. Even of those who believed Bush "exaggerated" the evidence, only a minority, 39 percent, think he lied. And when asked, "Regardless of whether or not it exaggerated the evidence, do you think the George W. Bush administration honestly believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, or not?," 68 percent said "honestly believed" compared to just 27 percent who answered "did not honestly believe."

For the Washington Post's rundown of this poll released on Thursday: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac3/ContentServer?pagename=polls&nex tstep=chooseQuestion&interactive=n&searchPollId=2004041&pollType=M aryland&questCategoryType=n&newsearch=&questCategory=&keyword=&pol lDateRange=&startingRow=1

[tang-soo]

Or the FBI snipers hit kill at Ruby Ridge

Not that I disagree with the tone of your comment - in fact I heartily agree, but Ruby Ridge took place prior to Clintoon.

[lowbridge]

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